secondhand car problem -advice needed

leninspot

At the end of April I bought a secondhand Ford KA for £700 & paid on my credit card.It had a new 12 month MOT. I recently started to smell petrol inside the car & took it to my local garage (not where I bought it) & was told it needed a lot of welding costing £100's to fix a problem which will get worse & that it won't pass an MOT next April. I rang the garage where I bought the car & he's not happy & says he'll look to see if he can fix it (already saying it won't cost much).He wants me to ;leave the car with him for a few days. I'm not sure what to do - ideally I'd like my money back. There wasn't a warranty with the car. Should I go straight to my credit card for a refund? help please.

foxy-stoat

Take a look at the previous mot to see if there was advisories about it needing welding in the future.

It may of passed ok 2 months and will not pass in 10 months - not really the fault of the supplying dealer as the rust was there when you bought it, unless the MOT they put on it doesnt list any corrosion on the advisories.

leninspot

Thanks for reply - there weren't ANY advisories.

caprikid1

Old KA's are best avoided. I would be amazed if there we no rust advisories on a KA !

forgotmyname

You bought a rusty KA, they are all like that sir its the poor design.

It wont pass the MOT next year, but you bought it this year not next year and you paid £700.

Stoke

Ford KA's are incredibly rust prone cars. It might have passed the MOT with no advisories, and rusted in the few months since. You'd be surprised how quickly they can rot. I would give him a chance to make it right. If one of his employees can weld, it might be a really small job to get sorted.

Fennite

being able to smell petrol is a dangerous sign.. I would get it looked at ASAP.

An MOT is not to say a car has been well looked after or is in good mechanical condition, It means it has been deemed fairly safe on the day of testing.

System

Under Consumer regs you have to give the seller the opportunity to repair it.

sheslookinhot

I would doubt that the MOT is genuine. A car would not go from being awarded an MOT to a rust bucket in less than 8 weeks.

leninspot

Thanks - I think you are the first person who has actually read/understood what I've said. Also, the DVSA says, in effect, that someone can ask whether an MOT should have been granted if corrosion is an issue within 3 months of the MOT being granted & corrosion is clearly the problem The garage owner I bought it from is NOT happy that I've gone back to him with this issue & I'm worried he'll bodge it if I leave it with him to 'fix'. I'm a pensioner & a woman who knows nothing about cars so it's a real worry to me.

sheslookinhot

Ask him to fix it and then put into a different MOT garage when he completes the repair. That way you'll find out the standard of the repair.